This month (May 2017) we invited Nigel Cullen of LGBT Drive, to talk about his experience of running his South London-based business.

LGBT drive is a South London based driving school with an LGBT+ focus- could you tell us more about the background to setting it up?

Having worked in the LGBTQ community all my life it seemed a natural progression to develop a business geared towards my community. On qualifying as an instructor I worked for a leading driving school but soon became very disillusioned with some of the business practices, homophobia and sexism that I experienced within the industry. I decided to take a year out to develop LGBT Drive and Cullens Driving School.

It sounds like there was definitely a market for LGBT customers.

Although my business is geared to the LGBTQ community I offer my client-centred teaching techniques to anyone who wishes to learn in a non-judgemental, safe and calm environment.

I would love to reach out more to LGBTQ youth, and the trans community. I also offer refresher lessons for students who just want to feel a little more confident on aspects of their driving, such as manoeuvres or motorway driving. I’m based in South West London but students come from all over London.

What response have you had from the various parts of the LGBT community?

I have had a very positive response to my business model from all types of people in and outside of the LGBTQ community. I’d like to say that we live in a world where we can be ourselves with everyone we meet and work with but unfortunately, LGBTQ safe spaces and business are still needed. I’m happy to provide one of those spaces to do something as important as learning to drive.

How have you found the first year of LGBT Drive?

This is my third year of teaching and my first full year of LGBT Drive and I must say I have had an amazing year. I have a waiting list for students at the moment and I received an “A” grade for my teaching from the DVSA in November which was the icing on the cake (only 30% of instructors are “A” grades). It certainly made all of the hard work worth it!

Do you have any advice for anyone looking to set up their own business?

I would advise anyone wanting to develop an LGBTQ focused business to do their research. It’s also better to work on your strengths and do something you enjoy.

Before I trained as a driving instructor I was the weekday venue manager at the Eagle in Vauxhall for six years. I really enjoyed working there as I’m a people person and now I’ve discovered a real love for teaching. The feeling you get when someone builds their confidence in driving and then passes their driving test is the best feeling in the world.

Nigel would also like offer to our newsletter readers a free hour when booking a 10 hour package (use the code LGBT Lambeth when booking on the website – offer valid until the end of June 2017)

Romani Protejati are a support group for members of the Romanian community who identify as LGBT.

They are based in Vauxhall.

They offer a comprehensive support and counselling service both around sexual health and issues related to coming out.

The Romanian community on the borough are a relatively recent arrival. Attitudes towards the Romanian community in the UK are not always positive.

This may lead to a reluctance within members of the Romanian community to engage with the police. Newham LGB&T have been trying over the past few months to open up lines of communication with LGB&T Romanians.

Romani Protejati contacted the team after the Romanian Cultural Institute displayed Newham LGB&T contact details on their web page.

This proactive networking lead to Newham LGB&T visiting Romani Protejati at their offices in Vauxhall.

Once a month we are tweeting this reminder across our social media;Third Thursday of every month #PozPubCrawl organised by @GMFA_UK supporting people living with HIV. #WhereIsPrEP https://www.gmfa.org.uk/Event/pozpubcrawl

GMFA | Poz Pub Crawl

Times and venues:

King’s Arms @ 7pm

Duke of Wellington upstairs bar @ 8pm

Compton’s @ 9pm

Dress code: Red

Every month on the 3rd Thursday, a bunch of HIV-positive gay men (and some friends) meet up in Soho and go on a pub crawl. In many respects this is entirely ordinary: there are hundreds of gay men living with HIV drinking in the gay bars of Soho every evening. What’s different is that at the Poz Pub Crawl we will be there as openly HIV-positive gay men. And we’ll be wearing red.

So why are we doing it?

Although about one in eight gay men in London is living with HIV, and the numbers are continuing to rise, the visibility of HIV has decreased in recent years. That means that many gay men believe that they don’t know anyone who has HIV, and myths and misconceptions about HIV are given the opportunity to flourish. By being out there and visible, we have the opportunity to acknowledge that people with HIV are the people standing shoulder to shoulder with you in our bars and clubs – and we hope that by doing this we may challenge the stigma that many men living with HIV encounter. More than that, judging by the way that the our first year of pub-crawls have gone, we can expect to have a fun, sociable and supportive evening.

Is this HIV-Positive Pride?

Many of us have taken a sexual risk at some point in our lives. Although I don’t feel ‘proud’ of my HIV status, I don’t feel like I should be made to feel ashamed either. I’ll take responsibility for it and just try to be honest about it. Like coming out of the closet about being gay, coming out about your HIV status can also be relief. Carrying secrets can be a heavy burden. Being open about your status in public may encourage others to think about their own attitudes and their own behaviour.

Why red?

We want this to be a fun, casual, social event. So, without having to build an attendance list and know exactly who’s coming, we need a way of identifying each other. We chose red because we thought it was a colour that most people would have something of in their wardrobe but not so common that we’ll struggle to identify each other. You don’t have to wear red to join us, but we will be much more visible if you do. From the first Poz Pub Crawl we made quite an impact; standing on the stairs at Comptons and looking down there was a sea of red t-shirts.

For the particularly bold among us, we can get ‘HIV+’ t-shirts for you to wear (as modelled above). If you’re interested in buying a personalised ‘HIV+’ t-shirt, contact Michael (details below).

Where and when?

For the next event, we’re once again meeting at the Kings Arms in Poland St at 7pm, wandering down to the Duke of Wellington for 8pm and then finishing up at the grand dame of Old Compton St, Comptons, at 9pm. It’s a pub crawl so all timings are approximate. We plan to keep doing this on a monthly basis, probably keeping to every 3rd Thursday, so come back to the GMFA website, follow our tweets, or ask Michael to be put on the Poz Pub Crawl email list to get the meeting details each month.

Also, the more of us there are, the bigger impact we will have, and the better opportunity to make new friends and have a fun time, so please spread the word.

]]>https://lgbtlambeth.wordpress.com/2016/07/18/poz-pub-crawl/feed/1172430notohatecrimePozPubCrawlLGBT YouTube Short Filmshttps://lgbtlambeth.wordpress.com/2016/07/18/lgbt-youtube-short-films/
https://lgbtlambeth.wordpress.com/2016/07/18/lgbt-youtube-short-films/#respondMon, 18 Jul 2016 16:20:58 +0000http://lgbtlambeth.wordpress.com/?p=601Continue reading →]]>A new weekly Wednesday night posting to signpost and promote LGBT short films we have found on YouTube. Got a LGBT short film you would like us to share via our social media? Get in touch!

A coming-of-age comedy about Matthew, a 14-year-old boy living in a very religious town, whose best friend Ester tries to ‘cure’ him of being gay. But a trip to San Francisco shows Matthew that he might not be the one who needs curing.

Lambeth Police have asked us for assistance with an appeal for information regarding the death of Leon Ulett. So we are circulating the folllowing via our networks;

Police Appeal for Assistance – Reward £20,000

On Wednesday 1st April 2015, 28 year old Leon Ulett was found unresponsive in Mout Ephraim Road SW16 and subsequently died the following day.

The circumstances in which Leon was found were suspicious, therefore the police want to build a picture of Leon’s movements leading up to his death. They would like to hear from anyone who saw or spoke to Leon that day.

The Metropolitan Police are offering a reward of up to £20,000 for information.

Did you know Leon?

Can you help?

]]>https://lgbtlambeth.wordpress.com/2016/07/01/police-appeal-for-assistance-leon-ulett/feed/0172430notohatecrimePolice Appeal - Leon UlettOrlando – Statements from Lambeth Policehttps://lgbtlambeth.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/orlando-statements-from-lambeth-police/
https://lgbtlambeth.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/orlando-statements-from-lambeth-police/#respondMon, 20 Jun 2016 15:07:47 +0000http://lgbtlambeth.wordpress.com/?p=490Continue reading →]]>As news broke about the attack on Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, some members of the Lambeth LGBT+ Community Network were involved in organising the London Stands with Orlando vigil that took place in Soho as well as diseminating information to the community through our social media.

Thanks to our Lambeth LGBT Liaison Officer (PC David Brunton) we were kept in touch with what was going on. David asked us to circulate the statements below from Inspector Roy Smith and the Borough Commander Chief Superintendent Richard Wood.

David, along with other Police LGBT Liaison Officers helped with the policing of the London Stands With Orlando vigil, and other LGBT officers in other Police Services supported other solidarity events around the UK.

On Tuesday 14th June some members of the London Stands with Orlando organising group met with Met Police Chief Bernard Hogan-Howe who thanked the team for organising the vigil. He said that met figures for the vigil estimated over 7,500 people attended the event and that there was not a single reported incident during the evening. Mark Healey (Co-chair Lambeth LGBT+ Community Network/founder of 17-24-30 No To Hate Crime Campaign asked that PC Tatjana Arsoba (Westminster’s full-time LGBT Police Liaison Officer) be commendated for her role working with the LGBT community. She and her sucessor PC Gareth Roberts helped brief volunteer who answered the call to help at St Anne’s Church. Jeremy Jospeh (G.A.Y. Buisness Owner) asked the Commisoner to organise a meeting with representatives from LGBT businesses and community organisations.

The Metropolitan Police Service quickly organised a meeting of LGBT Businesses and community organisations at the Heaven Nightclub on Friday 17th June. The meeting was addressed by Met Police Chief Bernard Hogan-Howe, followed by Commander Mak Chishty who has responsibility for tackling hate crime across London and Commander David Musker who has responsibility for policing the Pride in London event over the weekend 25th/26th June. They were followed by Michael Salter (Pride in London) and then a presentation by two officers from the Counter Terrorism Team.

A further statement from the Metropolitan Police Service is included below.

Thanks to the National LGBT Hate Crime Network which consists of 35 members around the UK we were also able to get updates about the other vigils taking place. More information on the Consortium website here.

Message from Chief Inspector Roy Smith

Dear All,

Please see below a brief message circulated by our borough commander this morning.

I am aware that this will be a particularly difficult time for members of the LGBT community and recognise some of the concerns that you have raised with us in relation to your venues and customers.

I have asked for additional patrols to be conducted at all of our major LGBT venues this week and over the weekend including specific engagement visits by our team of LGBT liaison officers. In addition I have asked for additional reassurance patrols to be organised over the Pride weekend. I must stress that this is not in response to any specific information or intelligence.

I am very happy for suggestions as to any other steps you feel might be appropriate to take and would ask for you to contact PC David Brunton directly.

I have also asked for us to take the opportunity to ensure our local borough engagement structures are as effective as they can be and I am more than happy to attend the next meeting for the Lambeth LGBT forum personally to discuss any concerns.

Finally I would ask that your teams are reminded that it continues to be vital they are alert and not alarmed. Further guidance in the highly unlikely event of an attack in the UK is available here:

My thoughts, prayers and best wishes are with those who are affected by this terrible incident – there is no place for hate in our communities.

Best

Roy

Roy Smith

Chief Inspector

Lambeth Borough HQ

@roysmithpolice

LX – Lambeth

Briefing note

Date: 13/06/2016

To: Lambeth community representatives

From: Chief Superintendent Richard Wood

Topic: Orlando shootings

Details of incident

You will no doubt have seen the news covering the tragic events in Orlando yesterday. Our thoughts are with the victims, friends, families and loved ones of those involved.

Now, as ever, it is important we are united as communities and send a clear message that there is no place for hatred in our world.

Over the coming week we will have additional patrols in and around our busy night-time economies and our team of LGBT liaison officers will be conducting reassurance and engagement visits amongst the LGBT community and venues.

I am not aware of any specific information or intelligence which relates to our local area, but will of course keep you updated as the situation develops.

As ever if you have any concerns, questions or suggestions, please do feel free to contact me or my staff office.

Kind regards,

Chief Superintendent Richard Wood

Borough Commander – Lambeth “LX”

The Metropolitan Police Service and Pride in London have published a joint open letter to those attending the annual Pride event next Saturday, 25 June.

The letter is being issued in the wake of the Orlando shooting to provide reassurance to the LGBT community; and follows a meeting hosted by the Met earlier today, Friday 17 June, at Heaven nightclub which was opened by the Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.

This briefing, for representatives of the LGBT and business communities, included up-to-date information regarding the threat level, and protective security advice designed to reduce vulnerability.

Invited delegates had the opportunity to ask questions or raise concerns not only with the Commissioner, but also Commander Mak Chishty, MPS lead for community engagement, and Commander Dave Musker who is responsible for the policing operation for Pride.

Dear friends

Open letter from the Metropolitan Police Service and LGBT+ Pride in London

On Saturday 25 June, LGBT+ Pride in London will hold its annual parade in central London.

This is a unique event celebrating London’s diverse communities, which the Metropolitan Police Service has proudly supported for many years. A record number of groups are registered to participate in the parade, including more than a hundred Met officers and colleagues from police forces around the UK.

Whilst the tragic events in Orlando last weekend have caused huge shock and concern across the world, there is no intelligence to suggest an increased threat to the Pride parade in London. Police have been working closely with Pride in London for some months in planning for this event. As a matter of course, the security plan has been reviewed and the situation is continuously monitored and remains under review.

The Met Police and Pride in London recognise that people in the LGBT+ and wider community may have increased concerns at this time. Therefore, to help provide additional reassurance and to show support for the Pride event, the Met Police will have an increased visible policing presence at the parade and in Soho. There will be a proportionate policing plan in place on the day and Pride in London is also providing additional stewarding.

We encourage those who wish to show their support for – and stand in unity with – the LGBT+ community to come and watch the parade and attend festival events, all details can be found on http://www.prideinlondon.org We hope that everyone attending Pride in London 2016 has a safe and enjoyable day.

Yours sincerely

Signed by Commander Mak Chishty QPM on behalf of the Metropolitan Police Service and Micahel Salter-Church MBE Chair of Pride in London.

Police officers at Pride in 2015 (Photograph: Mark Nortcliff)

LGBT Officers and colleagues will be marching in the Pride in London Parade on Saturday 25th June 2016.

]]>https://lgbtlambeth.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/orlando-statements-from-lambeth-police/feed/0172430notohatecrimeSoho vigilPolice Meetingnews-open-letter-from-the-metropolitan-police-service-and-lgbt-pride-in-londonHappy Pride – Welcome to Lambeth LGBT+ Community Networkhttps://lgbtlambeth.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/happy-pride-welcome-to-lambeth-lgbt-community-network/
Mon, 20 Jun 2016 12:41:48 +0000http://lgbtlambeth.wordpress.com/?p=413Continue reading →]]>From all of us at Lambeth’s LGBT+ Community Network we wish you a safe and happy Pride. On Sunday 26th June we will have a presence at Pride in the Park / UK Black Pride in Vauxhall Gardens – so come and join us at the Metro Charity stallWelcome to our WordPress blog,

Lambeth LGBT+ Community Network is Lambeth’s new LGBT+ borough forum. The old forum ceased meeting in 2009.

We hold regular meetings at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern to discuss local issues and plan our activities. We work in partnership with local authorities – Lambeth Council, Lambeth Police, key partners including Lambeth LGBT venues, charities, groups and organisations, and individuals to provide a forum for the interests of the local LGBT communities.

We also have representation on the Lambeth Independent Advisory Group.

We are currently looking for new members to join our steering group. If you are interested please get in touch.

Events

We aim to promote and support local LGBT events (see our Events section here) and invite you to register your events with us so that we can share them across our social media.

Hate Crime

We want to prevent hate crime in Lambeth, 17-24-30 No To Hate Crime Campaign have sponsored 1,000 London Hate Crime Reporting Cards to promote the three main reporting routes (1) Lambeth police, (2) Lambeth Council and (3) 3rd party independent advice and support organisations including Galop and the Metro Charity.

We will be handing out these cards at Pride in the Park in Vauxhall Gardens on Sunday 26th June, and plan to have a presence at the Metro Charity Stall.

LGBT Community Development Strategy for Lambeth

Working together one of the objectives of the Lambeth LGBT Community Network is to bring people, groups and organisations – who live, study, work and socialise in Lambeth – together – to draft an LGBT Community Development Strategy for the borough.

The aim is to have a borough LGBT forum similar to LGBT forums which exist in other boroughs.

To seek to understand the current needs of the LGBT communities in Lambeth.

To represent those needs within the borough where appropriate.

To provide a forum for community engagement, discussion and consultation.

To liaise with the local authorities (police and council), key partners and others to develop plans to meet those needs.

]]>172430notohatecrimeCardA Lambeth LGBTPicture1slide 01 - Title page Community Development StrategyMetro Charity provide free and confidential support to LGBT people affected by hate crimehttps://lgbtlambeth.wordpress.com/2016/06/05/metro-charity-provide-free-and-confidential-support-to-lgbt-people-affected-by-hate-crime/
https://lgbtlambeth.wordpress.com/2016/06/05/metro-charity-provide-free-and-confidential-support-to-lgbt-people-affected-by-hate-crime/#respondSun, 05 Jun 2016 16:27:32 +0000http://lgbtlambeth.wordpress.com/?p=405Continue reading →]]>The Metro Charity are circulating leaflets to advertise their free and confidential advice service to LGBT people affected by hate crime.

The leaflet says Metro will;

listen and advise you on your options

Help you report to the Police, anonymously or in person if you want to

With your permission liaise with Police, housing, health and other services on your behalf

Help you with safety planning

Signpost you to other support

Metro provide advocacy and emotional support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans* people who experience hate crime.

What does the service include?

Metro offer one-to-one support by telephone, email and text, face-to-face meetings, safety planning, support attending meetings with services and the courts and access to METRO’s Hate Crime Counselling Service.

Who is the service for?

Anyone who is, or is perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans* that has experienced a hate crime, discrimination, harassment or intimidation.

What is a hate crime/incident?

Acts of violence or hostility directed at people because of who they are or who someone thinks they are. Examples include: verbal abuse, physical attacks, threats of violence, hoax calls, abusive phone or text messages, graffiti, arson, hate mail, online abuse, harm or damage to your property, pet or vehicle.Who are METRO?

METRO is a leading equality and diversity charity, providing health, community and youth services across London and the South East, with national and international projects. METRO works with anyone experiencing issues around sexuality, gender, equality, diversity and identity across our five domains: Sexual & Reproductive Health, Community, Mental Health & Wellbeing, Youth and HIV.

Lambeth LGBT Community Forum has written to Lambeth Council to express our concerns:

1) Lack of Lambeth Council represenation at the Lambeth LGBT Community Network’s meetings.

We have a regular monthly meeting at 6pm on the first Tuesday of every month at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. We would like to have a representative from Lambeth Council attend these meetings.

2) Management of Clapham Common including the PSE area.

We would like to know what arrangements have been made within the Community Safety Service to continue the work of the Public Sex Environment’s Working Group that was managed by Paul MCann until he left the council on the 31st March 2016. We understand that this group brought together key partners to address issues relating to the management of the PSE area on Clapham Common and other areas within the borough. We are concerned to hear that a dispersal zone has been introduced in the area without any consultation with the LGBT community.

3) Lambeth’s Councils hate crime prevention strategy

We were informed by Lambeth Council following the deletion of the Hate Crime Prevention Coordinator’s post on the 31st March 2016 that we would be updated about the council’s hate crime prevention strategy going forward – to date we have not had any further communication from Lambeth Council. We would like to know what the council is doing to tackle hate crime in Lambeth and how it intends to work with members of the LGBT community affected by these attacks.